Breakdown of Die Behörde, deren Experten wir kennen, hatte die Schließung angeordnet.
haben
to have
wir
we
kennen
to know (somebody/something)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Experte
the expert
deren
whose (f/pl)
die Behörde
the authority
die Schließung
the closure
anordnen
to order (to command, decree)
Questions & Answers about Die Behörde, deren Experten wir kennen, hatte die Schließung angeordnet.
Why do we use deren here instead of dessen?
deren means "whose" and acts as a genitive relative pronoun referring back to the feminine noun die Behörde. If we were referring to a masculine or neuter noun, we would use dessen.
Why is the conjugated verb kennen at the end of the middle phrase?
The phrase deren Experten wir kennen is a relative clause giving us more information about the authority. Because it is a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb is pushed to the very end of that clause.
What tense is hatte angeordnet and when do we use it?
This is the Past Perfect tense (Plusquamperfekt), built with the simple past of haben (hatte) and a past participle (angeordnet). It is used just like "had ordered" in English to show an action was completed before another event in the past.
Why is the ge in the middle of angeordnet?
The root verb is anordnen (to order or mandate), which is a separable verb. In the past participle form, the ge goes between the separable prefix (an) and the rest of the verb (ordnet).
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